Off Road Driving: Everything you need to know

Try rally driving on a specially made course, or get behind the wheel of a monster-monster truck (nerds: fear not, you can choose either Euro or US spec). Take a powerful 4x4 on an off-road obstacle course that will challenge even the most experienced driver: basic and extreme courses are available, giving you the chance to drive a Land Rover Defender or Discovery.

If you often drive past building sites lusting after daft little diggers, how about a day of daft digger racing at Diggerland? For a driving day to challenge your skills to the max, get behind the wheel of a juggernaut and take this 430 horse power beast around a specially-designed obstacle course. You’ll need to master the unique split gearbox first, and you can bring a few spectators to ride in the cab and support you (or laugh at you).

Locations for our off-road driving days and experiences are dotted all around the country, including the legendary home of British motor racing: Silverstone! Woo!

FAQs

Q: I’ve heard of ‘off the peg’ and ‘offside’ and ‘offal’, how is this different?

A: Off road driving means driving a specially adapted 4x4 vehicle over terrain not usually driven upon including a wide and slippery variety of natural and manmade obstacles.

Q: But aren’t all cars 4x4? They all have 4 wheels. Except the ones that have three.

A: Yes, but these are ferociously powerful four-wheel drive contraptions, a drivetrain allows all four wheels to receive torque from the engine simultaneously. That’s right, torque. Lots of lovely torque. Yum.

Q: The one in the swan dress? From Iceland?

A: No that’s Bjork. I said torque.

Q: And what good does that do?

A: This allows the metallic beast to clamber up hills, down slopes and across ruts, ditches and mounds, in that order.

Q: I’ve got that bladder thing, how long will I be in the vehicle?

A: Completely depends on the experience you choose. Our ‘taster’ experience gives you around 25 minutes of drive time, while you can also get an ‘extended’ adventure that lasts all day.

Q: What sort of motors are we talking about, because I’ve got a mate in the business?

A: You’ll be dealing with the mighty Land Rover Defender or the robust Land Rover Discovery, perhaps a Jeep or even a Range Rover, things of that nature. Though these may vary in different locations. Check the small print before you order or just contact us if you have your heart set on a certain vehicle.

Q: I am a child.

A: That’s fine, as we even have a junior off roading experience for children 12 to 16, with expert, safety-conscious tuition thrown in. There’s a helmet involved and everything.

Q: I like to wear my gabardine suit with the spats on these kinds of occasions, is this wise?

A: No, as you will be vanquishing mud in your vehicle, bring suitable outdoor clothes and wear walking boots or old trainers in case of dirtiness.

Q: What if it’s piddling down?

A: Obviously the vehicles are designed to deal with trying conditions, but if the weather becomes too severe it may be necessary to postpone your experience and rebook for another time.

Q: And will I jump through a barn shouting ‘yee-haw’ with all chickens flying out and hay and that?

A: You are thinking of the Dukes of Hazzard. That’s a completely different thing.

Fun Facts

1: The first four-wheel drive vehicle is thought to have been a traction engine, designed in 1893 by British engineer Bramah Joseph Diplock. Though I imagine he’d soon have to leave the industry due to the comicalness of his name.

2: Incredibly Porsche designed and built an electric four-wheel drive vehicle, which was unveiled in 1900. Unfortunately the car could not travel very far, as the extension cord wasn’t invented until 1908.

3: The first car with an internal combustion engine and four-wheel drive was the Spyker 60 H.P. which was built in 1903. Created by Dutch brothers Jacobus and Hendrik-Jan Spijker it begs the question, why didn’t they call it the Jacobus? That’s a much better name.

4: One unusual off road vehicle was the Antarctic Snow Cruiser, an enormous 55 foot long creation designed to travel across icy tundra. Unfortunately, on arrival in Antarctica in 1940, it was found to only have sufficient traction when driving backwards. But in whatever direction it travelled, I bet it still freaked out the penguins.

5: Rock crawling is an extreme form of off road driving, where vehicles travel over adverse terrain such as boulders, mountain foothills, rock piles and other seemingly difficult environments. While I bet ‘The Rock, crawling’ is a caption under a baby picture in a photo album belonging to the mother of action star Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.

6: The Baja 1000 is a famous Californian off road race, where competitors are allowed to enter a wide array of vehicles including motorcycles, dune buggies, trucks and specially designed constructions. Stars such as Steve McQueen, Paul Newman and Ted Nugent have all taken part. That’s great, especially as the closest we could come to a similar event is if Jim Bowen took the bus from Wennington to Carnforth.

7: Jeep is considered the oldest brand of 4x4 vehicles in the world, starting military production in 1941, with civilian models released in 1945. The origin of the name is unclear, with some thinking it refers to a General Purpose vehicle (or GP) while others believing it was connected to a Popeye cartoon character. Another crazy theory is that it could have been named after Kenny Jeep, the inventor of the Jeep, if he existed. Which he doesn’t.

8: The one millionth Land Rover Discovery recently rolled off the production line at the company’s factory in Solihull. To celebrate, it was driven all the way to Beijing. Think about all the Little Chefs they must have stopped at on the way. It must have been loads.